News

EA Says FIFA 11 is the Fastest Selling Sports Game Ever

More than 2.6 million copies sold, $150 million in revenue generated in first week.

Electronic Arts' football franchise may be on its 11th installment, but FIFA still has plenty of legs (zing!). EA announced that, based on internal estimates, FIFA 11 sold 2.6 million copies in its first week on the shelves, making it the fastest selling sports game of all time.

Featuring Personality+ for more authentic player AI, playable goalkeepers, and a new passing control system, FIFA 11 shipped on September 28 and has thus far out-paced FIFA 10 (the previous franchise record holder) by 29%. The game got off to a franchise-best start in markets around the world, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and North America, EA said, raking in roughly $150 million in sales.

"This is a landmark achievement for EA Sports -- we've shattered sales records at retail, critics are praising FIFA 11 as being one of the most authentic and innovative titles ever, and fans are connecting and competing with other gamers around the world and have logged a record number of online connected game sessions," EA Sports President Peter Moore said in a statement.

In addition, EA announced that FIFA 11 Ultimate Team (a combination management strategy game and soccer simulation) will be available for free on the Xbox 360 and PS3 beginning in November. In Ultimate Team, players earn credits through training and playing games (or just buy them using a credit card) and can use those credits to upgrade equipment or buy new players. EA noted that this year, due to popular demand, Ultimate Team players will be able to take their squads onto the online pitch to compete in single-player tournaments.

Sharkey says: FIFA 11 is also a critical darling, earning an 89 score on Metacritic. Nice to see EA add some strong new features to the franchise instead of a simple roster update. Oh, and I recommend cutting up your credit card if you plan on diving into Ultimate Team -- the temptation to save countless hours spent earning credits by simply spending real money on Messi and the like is nearly irresistible.